The Step-Counters
by notverycreativename
Summary: From the tumblr prompt: Imagine a soulmate AU in which your OTP gets a step-counter. For each step the take, the number goes down, marking the moment they meet their soulmate. @opt-imagination. Updating new chapters when I can, just depends on school.
1. Healers and Murderers

**The Step-Counters**

From the tumblr prompt: _Imagine a soulmate AU in which your OTP gets a step-counter. For each step the take, the number goes down, marking the moment they meet their soulmate._ ~ opt-imagination

Will

When Will was five years old, he would walk around outside and watch as the number on his wrist got smaller. He can't wait until the day that he will eventually meet his soulmate. He knew of some people who never found their soulmate, either because their soulmate died or just could not be found. Will didn't want to end up like them, but at least that would be easier than the people that actually found their soulmates and would get rejected. Almost all of these "Discarded" couldn't even find their will to live anymore. Will just hopes his soulmate will like him if he ever meets them.

Nico

Nico's life was horrible. His dad, Hades di Angelo, was like the Godfather of the Italian mafia. He was scary, even by Nico's standards. Hades had been in and out of jail for most his life and was able to build up many connections over the years. Some good, others not so much. On one horrific night, both Nico's older sister and his mother died because a rival gang wanted revenge on his dad. Nico will never forgive Hades for that. Now, Nico works for his dad as a hit-man. He didn't want to do it, but his father threatened him that if he didn't, Hades would find him and kill him. Consequently, Nico has killed so many people that he has almost lost count. That's how he got the nickname 'The Ghost King'. Many far and wide have come to fear him. Nico never asked for this. A father who didn't love him, a dead mom and sister, or his horrible life in general.

Outside of his small two room apartment, a car door slammed shut. Nico could just make out a few shouts. Probably his neighbors a few floors down fighting again.

Pulled away from his thoughts, Nico glanced at his arm, the number 2,891 ominously glowing through the dark of his room. Nico doesn't believe in soulmates. Something about them just seemed so ridiculous to him. He knew that even if he did meet whoever they are (which Nico thought was not likely), they wouldn't even want to talk to him. Not that he would mind. Nico is no one's friend and no one is Nico's.

Hades had another job for him tomorrow. Someone forgot to pay him or something. That idiot. Soon, they will cease to exist. Nico's stomach churned. People say that if you kill someone, you cannot live with the burden; but the deaths Nico has caused never seemed bother him anymore. He can not feel. He will not feel. _He refuses to feel_.

Will

Will's normal day consisted of: get up, go to school, go to work, walk home, study, then sleep. He was just about to walk back to his studio apartment when he heard a scream. Will, being a pre-med student, ran towards the noise to see if he could help in any way.

He was lead to an alley behind a abandoned building where he saw a boy about his age holding a gun up to a terrified man. The man kept saying something like "I'm going to pay, I promise!" and "just wait". Will, in an act of pure idiocy, yelled "STOP-" but was cut off by the sound of the gun going off.

Will was petrified. All he could see was the man's body sprawled on the ground slowly seeping blood onto the pavement. The shooter turned and made his way over to Will with his gun pointed at Will's chest.

The boy was wearing a grey, almost black, hoodie. The arm that was holding the gun was slightly exposed. Will was speechless as he watched the numbers on the boy's wrist drop in horror. When the boy stopped in front of Will, the number hit zero. Somehow, Will gained back his speech.

"It's you? Out of all the people- you- but you just shot someone- _my soulmate shot someone_." The boy looked at Will like he was crazy. Then he looked at his arm, then back to Will. His face contorted.

"Shit! Fuck! WHY DOES THIS ALWAYS HAVE TO HAPPEN TO ME?!" he yelled to the sky. Will was thoroughly confused. First, his soulmate shoots a guy; now he's yelling like a crazy person. What the hell...?

As if all of the sudden, Will realized how good-looking his soulmate was. He could see why people would call the boy handsome. He had soft lips, soft, dark brown hair, and the darkest eyes they were like ebony jewels. Will cursed himself for falling for someone he just met and just saw shoot another person. Damn that boy was hot. His dark hair, onyx eyes, and olive sin made Will feel as if he was slowly sinking into a pool of tar. _Not the time Solace_ , Will thought as watched the boy.

Nico

Nico is cursed. The stupid motherfucking universe doesn't want him to be happy. Everything is wrong. First his sister and his mom, now his goddamned soulmate. He had just to see Nico _kill another person_. Fuck.

It didn't help that the boy in front of him was gorgeous. With his soft blue eyes, wavy blond hair, and perfectly tanned body. It was official, the universe hated him.

In an explosion of fury, Nico threw his gun across the alley and slammed himself hard against a dumpster. Then he broke down crying. Jesus, _everything_ was against him.

The next thing Nico knew, he was being gently caressed by the boy. Nico sobbed into his shoulder. When he finally had the will to speak again, his words came out shaky. "W-why are you being so-so nice to m-me? I-I-You-You just watched me _kill_ another person..."

"Shhhhh, just tell me why you did it. That's all I need to know," he pulled back and looked into Nico's eyes with sad kindness. Nico doesn't know why but staring into those blue eyes comforted him, convincing him that everything was going to be okay.

Nico took in a shaky breath, "I had to or-or my father would have hurt me. I-I needed to kill that guy because he didn't pay Hades back on time. I'm- I'm sorry..."

The blond must have heard all the regret in Nico's voice because he nodded and said, "I see. How many people have you killed? Did you want to kill them? Or...?"

"Too many; I've- I've lost count. I didn't want to kill them but H-Hades…" Nico sighed. Realizing he said to much, he was suddenly very interested in his shoe laces. He sat whimpering, waiting for the boy to respond.

Will

Will didn't know what made him hug the brunette. Something just pulled him to the sobbing boy. The guy said that he had killed because his dad made him. For some reason, Will believes him, though he doesn't know why.

Will pulled the boy up, noticing for the first time how exposed they were. In a rush, Will said, "Come on. I think we need to leave if we don't want to be caught. You should probably throw away the gun." With every word, Will felt as if he was tarring his morals apart. He should not be helping a murderer, but he was Will's soulmate. Will needed to understand why. Why he, of all people, was Will's soulmate; why this boy shot another man; why he talked about his father as if he was scared of him; why he acted so lost to the rest of the world...

"We could go back to my apartment. Or maybe leave town? I'm not sure, I've never done this before," Will said. The boy wiped away his tears and scowled when he picked up the gun. "Apartment's fine" was his only response.

The walk to Will's apartment was short. Once in the confines of his home, Will let out the breath he didn't know he was holding. The dark-haired boy looked at the couch wearily and then to Will, a questionable look in his eyes. "Be my guest," Will said.

Nico

The tanned boy's apartment wasn't bad. It was very open and seemed to be filled with sunshine. The furniture was made with soft fabric and bright colors. Everything was so…. happy.

Nico realized that they both still don't know each other's names. "I'm Nico di Angelo, by the way. You are...?"

"Oh, um, I'm Will Solace. I'm sorry, I'm being rude. Can I get you something to drink or maybe some food?"

"Can I have some water, please?"

"Sure. So, uh, I guess we're soulmates. Huh. Sounds weird to actually say that," Will blushed as he got Nico a glass, filled it with tap water, and handed it to him.

"Yeah. Um, I wasn't expecting to meet like that. Or even meet you at all. I was kind of cynical about- you know. I really am sorry... I don't really know what to say... I'm bad with people." Nico was blushing furiously. He didn't expect to actually meet his 'soulmate', let alone be in his apartment with him. He felt stupid. Of course he would meet his soulmate, just as the step-counter had said.

"It's okay- well, it's not okay, but we can deal with that later- when you're ready to talk about it. For now, we can watch a movie." Nico couldn't express how thankful he was that Will didn't push him for answers.

Will walked over to his TV and put in Disney's _Hercules_. Not Nico's favorite movie, but he could deal with it. Once the movie started playing, Will took a seat next to Nico on the couch. Somehow, near the middle of the movie, their hands met each other's.

Will

Will didn't know half of what what going on during the movie. He was to focused on the fact that their _hands were touching_. Everytime Nico drew little circles on the back of Will's hand, it would send shivers up his spine.

He didn't even realize the movie had ended until Nico took his hand back. When they glanced at each other, Will could tell both boys were beet-red.

"So, um, do you think you should stay here or is it okay for you to go home now?" Realizing what he said sounded rude and like Will wanted Nico to leave, he quickly added, "Not that you're not welcome to stay the night."

Nico looked at him wearily, "Thanks, but I should probably go. My father will be wanting a, um, a status report…"

"Oh." Will was horrified. He thought to himself, _Way to go, idiot, you just made your soulmate hate you_.

Nico got up from the couch and made towards the door. Will following close behind. "So when- um- when will I see you again?" Will asked.

Nico rubbed the back of his neck, "I really don't know. Maybe we could…" The next words came out in so fast, Will almost didn't catch them. "Maybewecouldexangenumbers. Or something. Never mind. Forget it." Nico pushed past Will and opened the door.

Will was stunned. At the last possible second, Will grabbed Nico's wrist. "Hey, wait. I think that's a great idea. Let me go get my phone." He hastily plucked his IPhone from the kitchen counter and half walked, half sprinted to were Nico stood in the doorway. He nearly chucked his phone into Nico's hands. Embarrassed was an understatement to how Will felt at this moment.

With smooth grace, Nico put his contact information in Will's phone and swiftly handed it back to him after texting himself.

"Uh, I guess I'll see you tomorrow… Or not. You know, whenever," Will gushed.

"Yeah. Thanks for everything. It was really fun spending the day with you." Will couldn't hold himself back any longer. He pressed his lips onto Nico's. It was a small, chaste kiss that wasn't much longer than a second. When he pulled back, Nico looked flustered.

"Shit, I'm sorry! I don't know what came over me. God, I'm an _idiot_."

Nico's eyes seemed to be digging into Will's soul until he finally spoke. "No, it's okay. I-It was good. I should go." He pointed to the door and walked out. "I'll text you later, okay?"

"Sure" was all Will could say before he'd start spewing about how pretty Nico's eyes were, or how he wanted to run his hand through Nico's dark hair. As Nico walked away, Will shut the door, leaned against it, and let out the breath he was holding.

 _Oh my god_ kept repeating in his mind as he made his way through his apartment.


	2. Horrible Times in Happy Places

It was a cool autumn day as Nico sat outside a coffee shop watching the cars go by. Will was supposed to meet him here. Nico was going to confess every little detail about himself so there would be nothing between them. Will would know every aspect of Nico's life and that scared the shit out of him.

They had been texting for about three days now, though it was four days since the "incident". Nico couldn't tell if some part of Will hated him or if it was just his imagination. God, he hoped it was the latter.

As Nico sat there, his thoughts became darker. He couldn't describe how happy and relieved he was that Will showed up 5 minutes later.

"Hey. Wow, you're early. I thought I was going to be here first," Will said. It was true that Nico was early; about 2 hours early to be precise. He was trying to figure out how to tell Will everything. Damn, how much he wished for some of that Harry Potter Liquid Luck potion at this moment.

The waiter came over to their table and asked them what they wanted. Will got a medium caramel macchiato. Nico got a vanilla chai.

After about 30 minutes, Nico asked, "Do you think we can go somewhere private? I have something I need to tell you." Will gave him a quizzical look, but agreed.

"Let's go to my apartment this time," Nico suggested. "And I'll pay. Remember I'm very rich." A small smile played at Nico's lips.

* * *

Nico's home was a decent sized two-room apartment. There was very little inside, only an old couch and a small TV with a built-in DVD player. When Nico opened the door, the first thing you saw was a small living room that connected to a little dining space. There was a little kitchen off to the left side of the dining space and to the right were two small bedrooms and a bathroom. There was a small balcony behind where Nico had put his table with a few plants on the ledge and a lawn chair. Nico had a great view of the downtown area of Manhattan.

"Well, this is home," Nico said as he walked in followed by Will. "Can I get you anything?"

"No, I'm good. Thanks though," Will responded. He looked around curiously as Nico motioned for Will to come sit by him on the couch. "So, what did you want to talk to me about?"

Nico took a sharp breath. The couch was small enough that only two people could sit on it side-by-side comfortably. Nico was sweating and his hands were shaking. He was aware of how close Will was next to him. So close that Nico could smell him. Will smelt like summer and sunshine, if sunshine had a smell. Somehow, that reassured Nico- well that and the bright smile Will gave him.

Nico let out a shaky breath, "The reason I- well, the reason I wanted to talk alone is because- because I need to tell you everything. I think you at least deserve that.

"Let's see. I guess it all started when I was young. My father was almost never around and my mother was ill. She had some type of disease that was slowly spreading throughout her entire body. She couldn't keep things down half the time and would always be in a sort of daze. We didn't think she would make it, but then they found a cure. I was so relieved. I would finally have my mother back.

"Then I heard that Hades had been ripped off by his main dealer for a higher payer or, in other words, the 'Gaea' gang. That's when things around the house started to escalate. Gaea would come to our estate and cause problems. One time they scared our gardener half to death and he refused to come to the house anymore. My mom would always be yelling at my father that the house wasn't safe and we needed to leave or call the cops. My father would shoot her down every time saying that there was no reason to leave, that this was our home; and if we called the authorities not only would Gaea be finished, so would we.

"That's when my mother lost it. She packed up her things and got me and Bianca. We were just about to get in the car when my father grabbed me. He said, 'You can leave, but you can't take my son.' My mother tried to take me back but my father's grip on me was too firm. 'Fine,' she said. And as she got into the car she whispered to me, 'I'll be back for you.' Though she never did come back. The next day I was told that my mother and my sister had died in a car accident. I couldn't believe it. I refused to. I told myself that my mom was fine and my sister would be at home waiting for me to come play a game with her.

"I can remember how exactly, but at some point I found out the truth about my sister and mother's deaths. That's when I left home. I was doing well on my own and I kept to myself. I even changed my name, but my father eventually found me. To say the least, he was not happy. That's when he told me to kill or be killed.

"I couldn't believe what my father just said. I thought he was crazy, but then he looked me dead in the eye. Didn't flinch or have a look of doubt. That's when I knew- I knew he was serious. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him wave to one of the many henchmen that were lined against the wall behind me. As I follow Hades gaze, I saw one of them pull out a gun and start for me. I had the hardest internal struggle in my life: be killed or kill. In an act of sheer panic, I screamed, 'Please, father, no! I'm your son. I'm your son!' He just looked at me as if he had never even heard of me before. Once the gun was at my back, I- I just gave in. I said I'd do it as long as my life would be spared.

"I've been killing for about three years now. When you saw me in that alley, I-," Nico, who had been staring at his shoes for most of his speech, finally looked up. He could feel small tears streaking down his face.

Will looked devastated. He had been crying and his eyes were all red and blotchy. "I can't believe what you've been through. Nico-I'm so sorry."

The next thing Nico knew, Will was hugging him and kissing him firmly on the mouth. When he released the kiss, he pulled Nico closer and tighter. Then he whispered, "Nico, I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

They stayed like that until they both fell asleep. Never once unlatching from each other.


End file.
